The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-19
SAVED THIRTY LIVES.
A Man Who Has Rescued Many from
Watery Graves
From The Cincinnati Enqt,irer.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
For man who for a stated sum follows
the business of life saving at the sea coast a
record of half dozen or even of dozen
reScues in one year is a matter of no great
moment, and is scarcely worthy of COM
ment. But right here in Cincinnati is a
man who in this present year, with over
four months not vet marked off on the cal
endar, has pulled from the Ohio river ten
persons, who else would have been subjects
of newspaper items headed 'mysteriously
missing and whose flesh would have fed
the fishes
ALL OF THESE REsCUES
were made after dark and with single ex-
ception unaSSisted.
On Feb. 25, lS45, in Baltimore, Md,
Charles Clark was born. His boyhood was
what most boyhoods area combination of
skating, ball-playing, swimming, mumps,
measles, mothers slippers and little
school, When "a years of age Clark came
West, and desiring to locate in the best
city in America, he made Cincinnati his
home.
After two or three years spent in general
work-anything to earn an honest lveli-
hood-Clark was employed by the Big
Sandy Navigation Company, and
RAN ON THE RIVER.
In 1878 he was put in charge of the wharf
boat owned by the Big Sandy Company and
called "The Cincinnati Wharfboat," and
has ever since served there as the night
Waterman, having in all these years missed
but a few days-possibly a week all told.
Clark stands six feet three, and is sparely
built, weighing about 40 pounds. He
has an honest, good-natured face, a coal
black moustache and goatee, sharp eyes
and dark hair combed back from "a broad
forehead.
This is brief history and briefer descrip-
ton of the Cincinnatian who in the past
seven months has
SAVED TEN LIVES.
In the nine years he has been night watch
man at the wharfboat Clark has, he esti-
mates, pulled thirty drowning people from
the river, but never until this season, when
rescues happened so often and so close
together, has he taken much notice of
them.
During the high water of last spring Clark
heard
HALF-STRANGLED CRIES FOR HELP
one night as he walked up and down the big
wharfboat on the lookout for leaks He had
heard such cries many a time before. He
waited an instant until another cry enabled
him to locate the unfortunate; and then to
the rescue. The water was almost freezing
drifted a little distance out into the
stream, and then caught onto head-chain,
was freezing almost stiff, and in another
moment would have been washed from
his anchorage and swept away on the
current. When Mr.. Clark landed him safe
on shore he was too nearly dead to ac-
knowledge his gratitude, and whoever he
was, he has
NEVER RETURNED
to thank his preserver. Not many nights
later, two young men, intoxicated, walked
off the Maysville packet. Their shouts for
succor brought the old reliable life-preserver
from his watch. One was assisted to where
he could hold on to the Guiding Stars
wheel, and was taken out half drowned by
Clark after he had landed the other unlucky
inebriate. A few weeks later, one still
night in the early part of the summer, Mr..
Clark sat at his watch and strangely enough,
he was thinking of some of the poor
fellows whom he had saved from drowning,
when he was startled by splash of water
and in another instant there were cries
for assistance. A half-drunk man had
fallen off the Big Sandy wharfboat. 1t was
but
THE WORK OF A FEW MOMENTS
to pull the luckless wight out of the stream.
Later, ON the same night Clark saved an
other drunken fellow who deliberately
walked down the hill and directly into the
river He had not got beyond his depth. but
was wading blindly about, and when Clark
went in after him he explained that he was
looking for Pearl street. He found the sta
ton house instead, after ride in the patrol
wagon.
Other rescues have been made so recently
that readers of the newspapers may recall
some of them. Only few weeks ago a
woman, whether
ACCIDENTALLY OF PURPoSELY
is not known, walked through the open door
of the Cincinnati wharfboat into the
water, and was a moment laterfished out by
Clark.
About the same time countryman
Judging from his appearance, fell into the
river at the same place, and was similarly
rescued.
Two other subjects Of rescue at Clark's
hands were young men who were out
boat riding about the middle of sum-
mer, when their skiff upset Neither
could swim, and both would have been
drowned but for TIE cool-headed night
Waterman.
The last rescue was made about four
weeks ago, and will be recalled by the
reader 1t was in this one that Clark was
assisted by.
POOR JOHN o'BRIEN,
who was the night Waterman Oh the Coney
Island wharfboat. IL was but night or
two thereafter that 0'Brien himself fell
into the river and sank before his friend,
who had saved so many lives, could reach
him.
One of the queer things about Clark's
life-saving experience is that he does not
know, never having inquired, the name of
single person rescued by him, and to his
knowledge he has never seen any of them
since taking them from the river. Only
in a few instances has Clark been obliged
to go into the water himself. He long
ago provided himself with three long,
strong, light poles, of different lengths,
and with these has he effected most of his
rescueS
Paralyzing the Boys.
From the IA,,tJ5kin (Gd) INDEPENDENT